Middle Kingdom Pursuivants Handbook 2nd Edition - Midrealm ...

Never Guess. Well, let me restate that. Never make a guess sound like the absolute truth. I am horrified, timeand again, to see a herald glance at a submission and decide “That will conflict with something in Papworth’s”without even looking in Papworth’s! Outrageous! Every month, devices are accepted that are beautiful, goodstyle, and involve simple use of common charges. Do not claim there is a conflict unless you find the conflict,in writing, and can tell your client what it is. Similarly, do not dismiss unusual charges, arrangements ofcharges, or odd-sounding names out of hand. If you can’t quote the rule that prohibits something, do not say thatit cannot be done. When you give your educated opinions to people, let them know what is opinion and whatyou can actually support. We require people to document their names and devices for us, they should expect noless from us in return.Stay Positive. I am sure you all get as uptight as any of your most difficult clients when someone flatly says“You can’t do that”. Tell your clients what parts of their ideas are good and what parts you believe need work.Explain why you believe this, and encourage them to experiment with different ways to follow the conceptsthey want. Give them ideas that follow their concepts in different ways, and see if they like any parts of yourideas. If they don’t, keep thinking of new things. Do not tell them negative things like “you’re wrong”, “you’restupid” or that you know what is good for them and they don’t.Know Your Limits. Don’t be afraid to tell people about them, either. There is an awful lot to know aboutheraldry, and twice as much to know about names (and vice versa). Nobody knows everything, so you shouldn’tbe ashamed to admit that you don’t either. If you are going to be crushed to admit you made a mistake, you arein the wrong business. When you goof, find out what went wrong so you can do a better job next time, and thenexplain the situation to your client. When you are unsure, tell your client “I don’t know, so I’ll get help for us”and then get in touch with your favorite senior herald. They all want to help people, too, and can find someonewho will give you excellent advice about just about any difficult subject you might encounter. Your client willrespect you more for getting good advice than he would if you bluffed your way through and later proved to bewrong.Don’t Abandon Someone. Just because the “burden of proof” is on submitters does not mean you shouldpoint them towards the library and let them go. They don’t necessarily know what documentation is useful, orwhat common problems might be. You should let them know what to look for, what you need to make yourcase, and offer to help them look if you can. Make arrangements to stay in touch while they are looking forthings so you can guide them. This is how you can serve your clients the best.Enjoy Your Work. We do this for fun, so don’t do it if it stops being fun. People can tell when you thinkthey are a pain, or when you believe they are imposing on you. This will prevent you from doing a good job.Keep a positive attitude and have fun. People will enjoy working with you and you will get more accomplished.Originally appeared in Mill Rind, the quarterly heraldic journal of the East Kingdom.Armorial ConsultationBronwyn ferch Gwyn ap RhysEdited by Elena de Vexin, Dragon HeraldDevice consultation can be a symbiotic process. The client has a need and some rough ideas about what kindof design would represent him best; you as the consulting herald have the knowledge of heraldry and the talentto put those ideas and knowledge together to make something that both of you will be proud of. Both of you getpay-back; and for the rest of your life in the SCA, you will be able to look at banners at events and know thatyou had a hand in designing some of them.However, heraldic design is not necessarily an easy thing to do. This is especially true if you haven’tbothered to learn how various elements—fields, ordinaries, subordinaries, charges—can be put together to makea device. Before you start consulting, you must make sure that you have read and really know the contents ofthe Rules for Submissions. You must also know the material covered in a good basic text on heraldry (e.g.,Boutell’s Heraldry or Fox-Davies’ A Complete Guide to Heraldry), especially the material on tinctures, linesand fields, ordinaries, subordinaries, and charges. You should also have scanned the Pictorial Dictionary ofHeraldry (“PicDic”). While you don’t need to have all of the vocabulary down, it does help impress the crowd.48 Middle Kingdom Pursuivants Handbook2nd Edition - 2002